The operation, black licorice, and barren White Elephants left off in the distance? What if this was all life was about, all there was to ever know left a bad taste behind. In the short story “Hills Like White Elephants” tension in relationships is revealed through the strong symbols like the “operations”, “station tracks”, and the ever so upbeat “jig”. White elephants are “possessions that are useless or troublesome, especially difficult to dispose of”, this symbol is referred to again and again in the short story through the heartbreaking dialogue. In Hemingway's short story "Hills Like White Elephants,” an insidiously subdued tone is created through the lack of description among the characters, Hemingway's structure of theory of omission, and an array of literary elements. The operation that troubles the young couple is the future presence of an “it” tarnishing their relationship. The two of them, being equally as insensitive to the subject, struggle to declare the operation at hand all together. Forcing the reader to develop their own understanding of the operation at hand on their own. The American (being a symbol of freedom and power) and the manner in which Hemingway introduces the two characters in the beginning, “The American and the girl with him sat at a table in the shade, …show more content…
Fertility is contrasted with the barrenness of the operation they are discussing. Hemingway uses little detail it his works, although clear understanding is present through symbolism, dialogue, and use of metaphors. His style forces readers to understand the meaning as a whole with only the surface level art that he creates. Hemingway's uses his own theory of omission to talk about man’s dominance without directly stating it. He tells the reader just enough with the dialogue and description of the setting to provide under the water symbols and meanings of his